Luther F
Department of Orthodontics, UMDS, Guy's Hospital, London.
Eur J Orthod. 1993 Aug;15(4):315-25. doi: 10.1093/ejo/15.4.315.
Thirty-one medieval skulls, mostly dating from the Black Death in 1348, were compared with 32 modern, untreated adults. The medieval population was unusual because the skulls could be so closely dated. Lateral skull radiographs were used for the comparison, based on the method of Seddon (1984). A method error study indicated that the measurements could be treated with reasonable confidence, although possible difficulties with the material are discussed. The findings suggest that the modern group have the longer face and longer palate. The medieval group were found to have more retroclined upper incisors and more proclined lower incisors as well as reduced overbites. The results also suggest changes in mandibular shape over time together with cranial base changes: the modern mandible has a more obtuse gonial angle and is generally longer and thinner. It was not possible to reach a firm conclusion regarding chin prominence. The cranial base saddle angle has become more acute since the medieval period, and the length S-N is greater in the modern group. Depending on interpretation, the skull material could be said to have a more prominent maxilla. Possible reasons for the differences are discussed.
研究人员将31个中世纪头骨（大多可追溯至1348年的黑死病时期）与32个现代未接受治疗的成年人头骨进行了比较。中世纪的样本群体很特别，因为这些头骨的年代可以精确追溯。研究采用了基于塞登（1984年）方法的头颅侧位X光片进行对比。一项方法误差研究表明，尽管讨论了材料可能存在的问题，但测量结果仍具有合理的可信度。研究结果显示，现代组的面部更长，腭部也更长。中世纪组的上颌切牙更向后倾斜，下颌切牙更向前倾斜，覆咬合也更小。结果还表明，随着时间推移，下颌形状以及颅底发生了变化：现代下颌的下颌角更钝，总体上更长更细。关于下巴突出程度，无法得出确切结论。自中世纪以来，颅底鞍状角变得更加尖锐，现代组中S-N的长度更大。根据解读，头骨材料的上颌可能更突出。文中讨论了这些差异可能的原因。
